What is the Difference Between Retro and Vintage Elevators?

What is the Difference Between Retro and Vintage Elevators?

Retro and vintage are two similar and popular terms of concepts, styles, and trends lately. And it is commonly discussed the difference between retro and vintage.  On the other hand, these terms are also common for historical elevators. So what is a retro elevator? And what is a vintage elevator? What is the difference between them? Now we will talk about these nostalgic elevators.

In order to understand the difference, we should know the difference between retro and vintage first. Now let’s talk about them.

The Difference Between Retro and Vintage

Retro and vintage are new fashion terms or trends in so many areas, such as styles, home design, or fashion (for clothes and accessories). They are compared as vintage vs retro. And the difference between them is not so clear and in most cases, there is a big confusion about which one to choose. Many times, both terms are used for the same thing. But, the main idea about them is being old. Both of them refer to something that is old and precious. So how to differentiate retro and vintage elevators from each other? There is an easy method to do this.

Actually, it is not only about these two words. We should also mention the word “antique” in order to understand the main difference. Yes, getting more complicated as retro vs vintage vs antique. According to Wikipedia, the antique is an old but collectible thing. Antique stuff is important and valuable because of its beauty, rarity, people’s emotional bond, belonging to famous people, or an important role in the past. According to general consensus, an item should be older than 100 years in order to be defined as an antique.

Retro and Vintage

If an item’s age is between 100 to 20, it is generally described as vintage. It is accepted that a true vintage should be at least 50 years old. The word “vintage” normally refers to wine and comes from the French word vendage, which means the total harvest of grapes in a season. As wine becomes better and more precious as long as it waits, vintage items also become more valuable as old as they are.

On the other hand, retro is a Latin prefix that means backward or a movement through the back. So retro style is generally not old, but imitative. If something is the fashion in the close past and becomes common again, we can call it retro. Retro stuff may not be old and newly produced, but it should be in the style of a trend which is popular 10 or 20 years ago. Vintage stuff can be retro, but retro can’t be vintage.

So, retro vs vintage style is not very clear but there is a slight difference according to age and past time trends.

Retro Elevator vs Vintage Elevator

So, the question is what is the difference between retro and vintage elevators? Or we should say is there any difference between retro and vintage elevators? According to common trends in the industry, the answer is no. Yes, there are some companies that name them retro elevator or vintage elevator, but what they offer is generally the same.

But we can make a differentiation according to the definitions of the terms. We know that modern elevators started to be built around the 1850s. According to our belief, elevators that are older than 1900 can be described as antique elevators. From the beginning of the 20th Century to the end, as we are now in 2021, elevator designs used in this period can be called vintage. And the new but replica of new elevators may be defined as retro or old-fashioned elevators. For example, some companies are manufacturing birdcage-style elevators which were very popular at the beginning of the 20th Century. Actually, a birdcage cabin, because using old technology motor would not be safe. We can easily say that if there is a birdcage elevator still operative from old times, it is a vintage elevator. But if it is a newly manufactured replica, it is a retro-style elevator.

Vintage Elevator Fixtures

As ISF Elevator Company, we respect history with our elevator fixtures and believe that the taste of the old times is very attractive in some ways. So, prepared a new series of elevator fixtures to sustain the beauty of old-time elevators. Our vintage series elevator fixtures are very proper LOPs and COPs to commemorate old but beautiful elevators. If you love your vintage elevator but have to fix it, you can use our fixtures while sustaining history. You can also choose our vintage series fixtures to create a nostalgic view with your new elevators.